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posted by mrpg on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the ¿y-ahora-que? dept.

U.S. bans transactions with Venezuela's digital currency

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order barring any U.S.-based financial transactions involving Venezuela's new petro cryptocurrency, as U.S. officials warned that it was a "scam" by President Nicolas Maduro's government to further undermine democracy in the OPEC country.

"The 'petro' is a desperate effort by a corrupt regime to defraud international investors," a senior U.S. administration official told reporters, strongly warning that any transactions in the petro digital currency would violate U.S. sanctions. "Investing in the 'petro' should be viewed as directly supporting this dictatorship and its attempts to undermine the democratic order in Venezuela," the official added.

Trump's order bars "all transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in, by a United States person or within the United States, any digital currency, digital coin, or digital token," issued by Venezuela's government since Jan. 9, the White House said in a statement.

Also at the New York Times.

Previously: Enter the "Petro": Venezuela to Launch Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency


Original Submission

Related Stories

Enter the "Petro": Venezuela to Launch Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency 30 comments

Enter the 'petro': Venezuela to launch oil-backed cryptocurrency

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro looked to the world of digital currency to circumvent U.S.-led financial sanctions, announcing on Sunday the launch of the "petro" backed by oil reserves to shore up a collapsed economy. The leftist leader offered few specifics about the currency launch or how the struggling OPEC member would pull off such a feat, but he declared to cheers that "the 21st century has arrived!"

"Venezuela will create a cryptocurrency," backed by oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves, Maduro said in his regular Sunday televised broadcast, a five-hour showcase of Christmas songs and dancing. The petro, he said, would help Venezuela "advance in issues of monetary sovereignty, to make financial transactions and overcome the financial blockade."

Opposition leaders derided the announcement, which they said needed congressional approval, and some cast doubt on whether the digital currency would ever see the light of day in the midst of turmoil. The real currency, the bolivar, is in freefall, and the country is sorely lacking in basic needs like food and medicine.


Original Submission

Politics: Turmoil in Venezuela Surrounding Aid Deliveries 56 comments

Venezuela soldiers abandon posts at Colombia border

Soldiers from the Venezuelan national guard have left their posts ahead of an opposition-led effort to bring aid into the country, Colombia's migration agency said. In a separate development, Venezuelan troops have fired tear gas at people looking to cross into Colombia to work. Tensions have been rising over a row about the delivery of humanitarian aid.

President Nicolás Maduro said the border with Colombia is partly closed to stop aid being delivered. But self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó has vowed that hundreds of thousands of volunteers will help bring in the aid deliveries, which include food and medicine, on Saturday. The first delivery of aid has already entered Venezuela through Brazil, Mr Guaidó tweeted. The delivery of aid to the stricken country has proven to be a key area of contention between the two men who see themselves as Venezuela's leader.

National Guard fires tear gas amid Venezuela border tension

Venezuela's National Guard fired tear gas on opposition activists at a barricaded border bridge to Colombia on Saturday, and two protesters were killed near the border in Brazil, as the opposition tried to execute a high-risk plan to deliver humanitarian aid over the obstinate refusal of President Nicolas Maduro.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:21AM (28 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:21AM (#655899)

    You are free to do as you're told by the Dear Leader, that is.

    One thing is for sure: This ain't capitalism.

    • (Score: 5, Touché) by idiot_king on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:37AM (24 children)

      by idiot_king (6587) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:37AM (#655907)

      No, it IS capitalism because it is using economic pressure against an enemy in an especially destructive manner.

      • (Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:55AM (22 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:55AM (#655912)

        Clearly, that is not the case; clearly, your point is ridiculous.

        Capitalism is the philosophy that every disputed resource must be turned into capital; that is, every disputed resource must assigned a well-defined owner such that there is no more dispute. Voluntary interaction implies Capitalism, and Capitalism implies voluntary interaction.

        Trump's has just declared himself the owner of the resources that 100s of millions of people thought was their own capital; this unilateral re-appropriation of ownership is undoubtedly in dispute—not only is Trump's action a failure to meet the demands of Capitalism, but it is indeed an explicit violation of Capitalism.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:14AM (5 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:14AM (#655920)

          One description I heard for USSR is that it was State Capitalism. And it seems it was Lenin thing, not just random meme.
          https://libcom.org/forums/theory/lenin-acknowledging-intentional-implementation-state-capitalism-ussr-23032011 [libcom.org]
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capitalism [wikipedia.org]

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivism [wikipedia.org] is also an interesting read, at least once you realize the phrase "Critiques of productivism center primarily on the limits to growth posed by a finite planet" ignore that current systems don't seem to really care about limits, and even less so, about long term.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:01AM (4 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:01AM (#655954) Journal
            "State capitalism" is no more capitalism than "fake diamonds" are diamonds.
            • (Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:14PM (3 children)

              by legont (4179) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:14PM (#656255)

              How about crony capitalism?

              But back to the point, here is the receipt described in details many years ago and mostly followed by every capitalists state:
              subsidies

              distribution of monopoly rights

              workers rights

              government-sponsored industrial espionage.

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Plan_of_the_English_Commerce [wikipedia.org]

              --
              "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:26PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:26PM (#656322)

                If you are using the Men-with-Guns to impose your will (and thereby funnel resources into the control of you cronies), then that cannot possibly be capitalism.

                Why, then, do you insist on shoehorning the word "capitalism" in there? WHY?!

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:48PM (1 child)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:48PM (#656330) Journal
                I disagree. Notice the glaring absence of tariffs from that list, which was a thing in 18th Century English trade. The problem is that the list is ideological in nature and meant to back a anti-colonialist narrative of developed world countries oppressing via free market systems the developing world, in particular rationalizing a structural trade advantage on the part of the developing world. Tariffs would give advantage to the developed world which after all is proposing a dilution of its economic power via free trade.

                And I don't agree on those traits as being common to capitalist systems. For example, the great prevalence of anti-trust laws indicates to me instead a firm bias against monopoly formation. Subsidies, tariffs, and other forms of protectionism have gone down greatly with the advent of the global free trade movement. It's interesting how the originator of the list claiming that subsidies are a part of capitalist systems happens to be decrying the capitalist movement that aims to greatly reduce those barriers to trade.

                Worker rights is a dubious addition to this list. Most countries transition to a capitalist system via a phase with low worker rights (US, Europe, Japan, China, etc).

                As to government industrial espionage? So what? It's an arm's race. Once one side does it, everyone has to participate just to defend themselves.

                It's worth noting also that absolutely none of these are particular to capitalist systems and were common to other sorts of organizations in the past.

                I currently can't find a full length PDF of Defoe's book, but I bet it has something to say about immigration restriction, common written language, and perhaps even class or ethnic segregation. It also describes a human system - does that mean that extraterrestrial aliens can't possibly have a capitalist system? Just because one sees traits (real or imagined) doesn't mean that these are traits of capitalism.
                • (Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday March 21 2018, @11:10PM

                  by legont (4179) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @11:10PM (#656379)

                  Well, I have read the book. It has many more plan points that are really controversial nowadays, but they fit very well with what say China, Korea and Russia are doing.

                  Another example... the US had the highest tariffs in the world while in developing stage (and France had the lowest, which ended badly - revolutions and such)

                  The bottom line of my capitalists believes is that only a very rich country can afford freedom. One that is behind has to be limit it. Even more, freedom gives an advantage to a more developed country.
                  Here is a good summary of the view https://www.amazon.com/Kicking-Away-Ladder-Development-Perspective/dp/1843310279 [amazon.com]

                  --
                  "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:00AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:00AM (#655953)

          Have you not read the definition of capitalism????

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:03AM (14 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:03AM (#655955) Journal

          Trump's has just declared himself the owner of the resources that 100s of millions of people thought was their own capital

          The obvious rebuttal is that no, he hasn't done that. It might have added a slight cost to capital transactions between US and Venezuelan parties (the Petros would first be converted to a currency that is honored, or perhaps the executive order can merely be ignored), but it hasn't prevented the transaction.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @02:57PM (13 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @02:57PM (#656116)

            I suppose you would have argued that Uncle Sam never prevented people from drinking beer, only added cost to doing so; you just had to fly to Europe if you wanted a pint during PROHIBITION (it's in the name), amirite?

            Your comments are only ever insightful in that they are a good case study in fallacious thinking—endless examples of how intelligent people can delude themselves by all manner of rationalization.

            • (Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:45PM (12 children)

              by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:45PM (#656141) Journal

              amirite?

              I can sit here in los estados unidos and trade in assets converted to/from El Petro Venezolano, really no need to fly to europe. I can probably do it in my pajamas in front of a laptop. Might do some of that pretty soon, in fact, given that this announcement will probably have a temporary negative effect on the value of El Petro and thus make this a good time to "buy".

              I am not saying "khallow is a genius" (that's not at issue here), merely pointing out that his point is a valid one, and yours isn't.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:01PM (5 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:01PM (#656158)

                I have no idea why you think you've said anything useful.

                You've neither rebutted the other AC's point nor bolstered khallow's "point". You also haven't raised any point of your own, except for a straw man argument that suggests you don't understand what the other AC is saying.

                It's very strange. Very strange.

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:16PM (4 children)

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:16PM (#656260) Journal
                  Except to show the ease of legally bypassing the executive order of the "Dear Leader", that is. That's quite relevant.
                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:24PM (3 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:24PM (#656319)

                    It's totally irrelevant that you can brew beer in the dark secrecy of your basement. It's still the case that Uncle Sam outlawed Beer.

                    There is a fundamental dispute over ownership of some resources; Uncle Sam has unilaterally declared Himself the owner of said resources, against the will of people who thought those resources were their capital.* That is not only a failure to follow Capitalism, but it's also an explicit breach of Capitalism.

                    * These resources include the U.S. dollars that people have; Trump has commandeered some rights over the usage of those dollars.

                    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:53PM (2 children)

                      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:53PM (#656335) Journal

                      It's totally irrelevant that you can brew beer in the dark secrecy of your basement. It's still the case that Uncle Sam outlawed Beer.

                      The US didn't similarly outlaw the trade of Petros (which let us note, an executive order (EO) is not a law!), but rather that the US side can't handle the Petros directly. It remains not only easy, but legal to trade in many other currencies like the dollar and Euro to which those Petros can be easily converted by another party not subject to this EO.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @09:26PM (1 child)

                        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @09:26PM (#656353)
                        • "That's not Law!" Why do you always take this dumb position?

                          When people say that an EO is "not" law, that is just shorthand for saying than EO can be overturned by any President and does not require the much more complicated deliberative process of Congress.

                          Yet, an EO is written within the framework established by law; it has the full force of law. An EO is just the President writing into the blank space that Congress has left for that purpose. It's the law of the fucking land.

                          In any case, that's all irrelevant (as usual), because the point remains that such an EO is an example of anti-Capitalism.

                        • It's not at all clear that it would be considered by the Executive branch to be perfectly legal to transact via intermediaries who are not subject to the EO; indeed, history has shown that such "structuring" is considered to be highly illegal.

                          Such restrictions tend to be transitive.

                        Your position is just stupid. Give it up.

                        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:04AM

                          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:04AM (#656395) Journal

                          "That's not Law!" Why do you always take this dumb position? When people say that an EO is "not" law, that is just shorthand for saying than EO can be overturned by any President and does not require the much more complicated deliberative process of Congress. Yet, an EO is written within the framework established by law; it has the full force of law. An EO is just the President writing into the blank space that Congress has left for that purpose. It's the law of the fucking land. In any case, that's all irrelevant (as usual), because the point remains that such an EO is an example of anti-Capitalism.

                          Truth is an absolute defense against accusations of stupidity. The law in question was passed by Congress [akingump.com]. The EO merely interprets that law in a straightforward manner.

                          In any case, that's all irrelevant (as usual), because the point remains that such an EO is an example of anti-Capitalism.

                          As I noted earlier, a very easy to circumvent point which means it is not significantly anti-anything.

                          It's not at all clear that it would be considered by the Executive branch to be perfectly legal to transact via intermediaries who are not subject to the EO; indeed, history has shown that such "structuring" is considered to be highly illegal.

                          And you have to yet to mention why that would be "structuring". Look, we both know that one can "consider" anything to be anything. But why will that hold up in the courts?

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:04PM (5 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:04PM (#656161)

                They both have points, though khallow is the stupider one. Obviously people can break the law, that doesn't change the actions of the US.

                • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:11PM (4 children)

                  by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:11PM (#656205) Journal
                  Whine whine whine. Let's go over the scenario here. I want to exchange some Venezuelan capital for money. My other party only has Petros. Oh noes! We're blocked by the evil Trumpster and capitalism is doomed!

                  But wait, the other party merely needs to convert those Petros into some other currency, like dollars, Euros, or even bitcoins, and then the transaction may proceed. It adds some cost to the transaction from the cost of the conversion, but that's it.

                  I think the only thing stupid about that is not thinking about how easy it would be to do.
                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:36PM (3 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:36PM (#656229)

                    You should have just told us directly that you have no idea what's going on here; it would have saved us all a bunch of time.

                    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:15PM (2 children)

                      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:15PM (#656256) Journal

                      You should have just told us directly that you have no idea what's going on here

                      Why are you still typing? I explained my reasoning adequately last post. There's nothing you can add at this point that is relevant. Being territorial is the way of animals not rational men.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @09:49PM (1 child)

                        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @09:49PM (#656355)

                        Part of the fun with posting AC is seeing other people take up the argument, I was not "still typing". You seem incapable of understanding the issue of legality here, probably because you don't want to fully confront the fact that Trump is an authoritarian dickbag destroying the US.

                        As for whining, that seems to be your purview. I called your point stupid and you're the one doing mental gymnastics to try and salvage your dignity.

                        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:04AM

                          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:04AM (#656396) Journal

                          Part of the fun with posting AC is seeing other people take up the argument, I was not "still typing".

                          Maybe that's true, maybe it's not.

      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by FatPhil on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:36AM

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:36AM (#655990) Homepage
        Economics works differently at different zoom levels. From the highest level, this is the raw pure competition that one would expect in a capitalist market place - decrease the desirability of what your competitor is offering by any means necessary - so you got a +1 from me.

        However, at every other zoom level it doesn't work, as for a vast chunk of the marketplace (viz. the USA) this is clearly not a free market with price discovery - this is authoritarian market manipilation.

        I don't hold the majority of the Venezuelans responsible for the long-term and systemic corruption that's wracked their nation, and if the petro can help them turn their natural resources into something that benefits the masses, then I'm all for it. Were this enforced restriction of trade between the US and Venezuela to harm the US economy too (Venezuela is the US's 4th/5th biggest source for imported oil, 6% of the total, if they lose access to that, they'll be emptying their reserves a whole lot quicker, which will cost them in the future), then the schadenfreude lobe of my brain will fire a merry blip.

        What am I saying?!?!? Of course, probably what will happen is that the CIA will instigate a bloody coup, and install a system even more corrupt in order to help it rape the gold and oil reserves. Gotta get that revolution fomenting a little bit more first though. Plenty of time to sit back and relax with a cup of coffee while that happens: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-venezuela-cafe-con-leche-index/
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Captival on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:50AM (2 children)

      by Captival (6866) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:50AM (#655929)

      I love how idiots make up an imaginary idealist version of capitalism that never existed in reality then blame all their problems on it. It's not capitalism, it's you.

      • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47PM

        by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47PM (#656185)

        Almost as good as all the communist countries that only keep everything from collapsing by making it more capitalistic.

        There's platonic ideals of everything. Life involves compromise.

        --
        "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
      • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47PM (#656188)

        So like all the arguments against socialism then. OK thanks.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by idiot_king on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:35AM (7 children)

    by idiot_king (6587) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:35AM (#655906)

    Capitalism HATES anything that might be compassionate, especially if it means extending an olive branch to a country that might need it.
    Disgusting. Capitalism and the countries it yokes under its oppressive weight is insane.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47AM (#655911)

      No joke, this place is fucked. Badly.

      I'd have shuffled off this mortal coil a few years back if it wasn't such a dick move to friends and family.

    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:05AM (5 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:05AM (#655958) Journal

      especially if it means extending an olive branch to a country that might need it.

      Venezuela wouldn't need an olive branch in the first place, if it had a rational economic system and wasn't run by a bunch of thieves. At this point, extending said olive branch is merely an opportunity for said thieves to keep themselves in power a little longer. I'm just not feeling that need.

      • (Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:46PM (4 children)

        by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:46PM (#656144) Journal

        $ANY_RANDOM_COUNTRY wouldn't need an olive branch in the first place, if it had a rational economic system and wasn't run by a bunch of thieves.

        FTFY.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:13PM (3 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:13PM (#656208) Journal

          $ANY_RANDOM_COUNTRY

          If you think Switzerland is run just as poorly as Venezuela is, then I have some prime alpine lake real estate for sale, dirt cheap!

          • (Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:39PM (2 children)

            by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:39PM (#656231) Journal

            Your counterexample is a good one. Please sign over the lakefront property, and if we enjoy it, I promise we will pay you a very fair value, very fair.

            • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:20PM

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:20PM (#656261) Journal
              With a small proviso. How do I know, in the age of Trump whether your money will spend in my primitive country (that would be the US, sad to say)? Obviously, I must empirically acquire from you a significant, testable amount of this currency first and see if it spends well without me ending up in the pokey. If so, then of course, we'll proceed with the transaction and your glorious, glistening lake front property will await you!
            • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:01PM

              by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:01PM (#656287) Journal

              In Petros?

              --
              This sig for rent.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:45AM (24 children)

    by cubancigar11 (330) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:45AM (#655909) Homepage Journal

    I have been on the fence regarding this whole bitcoin thing. God only knows if I had done some serious thing about it back in 2008 then I would have been in a different situation, but if USA is afraid of a having cryptocurrency backed oil dealings, then this is some serious shit I need to figure out. This ain't going away no matter what.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:01AM (17 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:01AM (#655916)

      The fact that Bitcoin enabled a know-nothing 20-something-year-old to set up a website that flaunted Uncle Sam's War on Drugs to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars should have been enough to convince you of Bitcoin's worth.

      • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:23AM (16 children)

        by cubancigar11 (330) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:23AM (#655922) Homepage Journal

        I got scared of providing credit card details.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:38AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:38AM (#655924)

          Cuban cigar indeed /monocle

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:50AM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:50AM (#655928)

          Yup... that's my number one thing about money transfers as well.

          There are some cards out there which enable me to spawn off temporary charge numbers, but I have not figured out how to do that yet.

          It requires a great deal of trust from me for me to give my credit card credentials to anyone. Believe me, any trust I have for a business can rapidly be depleted by "businesstalk*", as if the business talks tricky before I do business with him, is giving him any of my business going to make him honest?

          *Up-to, as low as, with qualified purchase, other terms and conditions apply, highest STARTING speed, results not typical, lose 4 times the weight, and other completely meaningless business phrases used when communicating to their customer. These business phrases translate roughly to "give us your money at your own risk, we may screw you, and by your agreeing to our phrase, you surrender all recourse should we do what we say we might do to you."

          • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:54AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:54AM (#655931)

            If your credit card details get stolen, you can just cancel the charges and get a new card.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:32AM (9 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:32AM (#655940)
          Credit cards are safer than cash and definitely safer than debit cards.

          With credit cards when shit happens it's not my money that's gone. Others may try to claim I owe them money but meanwhile I have my money and thus more options.

          With cash when shit happens, that cash is gone. I can try to get it back, but meanwhile I'm out of that money and thus have fewer options. Similar for debit cards.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:23AM (7 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:23AM (#655985)

            Safer than cash, huh? Well, if you don't value your privacy and anonymity, anyway.

            • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @09:01AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @09:01AM (#655993)

              Buying food at the grocery store? You can use your damn credit card. Buying certain stuff at the hardware store? Pay cash.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:51AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:51AM (#656405)

                I use cash for both. No need to allow companies to track me.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:52AM (4 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @10:52AM (#656031)
              Tell me how does it really matter. Give me a real scenario for the USA where you're a fairly normal person with a normal job.

              Yes using credit cards does make it easier for the government to know where I eat, what I like to eat and what I buy and where I shop, but if I'm ever an enemy of the government my safety isn't significantly higher if I was solely using cash before that happened.

              Because whether I use cash or not they already know where I live and where I work.

              Yes using credit cards would be unsafe AFTER the government decides I'm an enemy. But if that ever happens and I somehow managed to escape (yeah right) I would be buying different stuff and eating at different places too. Like maybe in a different country.

              So if you want to be safer in such scenarios you should have huge piles of cash stashed away and use credit cards for most "normal" stuff. This way you'd have more cash available - since you probably wouldn't be paying your credit card bills in such scenarios ;).

              The government probably keeps a closer eye on people who completely don't use credit cards but buy expensive stuff with cash...

              As for other enemies, for online- whether I use credit cards or not doesn't help them find my real identity from my posts here or other forums. For offline - they can probably figure out where I live and it's nothing to do with whether I use a credit card or not.

              Of course if I paid for a forum subscription (or whatever else that links me to that forum ID - game account) with a credit card then yes it's traceable. But the last I checked SN doesn't allow you to pay for subscriptions anonymously with cash e.g. send them a letter with cash and a UID. You have to use stuff like PayPal which is far from anonymous.
              • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @01:43PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @01:43PM (#656092)

                Governments aren't the only adversaries after your personal information.

              • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Osamabobama on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:49PM (1 child)

                by Osamabobama (5842) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:49PM (#656236)

                So I went to the local middle eastern food market recently, and decided to pay cash. That should keep me off a few lists, I think, except before I even finish shopping, Google Maps is asking me questions about the place. So the whole credit card versus cash thing is only a sliver of the privacy war.

                By the way, they had 12 different brands of grape leaves in jars on the shelf! I don't know if that points to a chaotic supply chain, or a severely segmented market.

                Oh, and since it bothers me, flaut vs. flaunt [quickanddirtytips.com]

                --
                Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
                • (Score: 2) by arslan on Thursday March 22 2018, @02:30AM

                  by arslan (3462) on Thursday March 22 2018, @02:30AM (#656449)

                  Come now, obviously the folks advocating for cash only are also, mobile phone free, doesn't use the internet, live in a mobile home with make shift tin-foil hat they put on upon entering their humble abode.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:58AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @12:58AM (#656409)

                Tell me how does it really matter.

                It matters because privacy is inherently desirable to me. I simply do not want companies or governments collecting information about me, regardless of what they do with it.

                I'm also not confident that companies won't think of various schemes to use the data against me that I didn't even think of. For example, insurance companies raising premiums based on what food you buy. They pay people to figure out ways to use the data to generate a profit, so they have more time to think about this than we do.

                Also, the government could easily get a hold of the data if companies possess it.

                Because whether I use cash or not they already know where I live and where I work.

                But if you pay with cash, they will know much less about you. I won't hand over everything on a silver platter.

                Yes using credit cards would be unsafe AFTER the government decides I'm an enemy.

                How do you know they've decided you're an enemy if you're on a secret list? How do you know their criteria? The reality is that some people end up on these secret lists simply because they have the same name as some 'bad guy'.

                Also, by then, it is too late; they already have tons of data about you.

                The government probably keeps a closer eye on people who completely don't use credit cards but buy expensive stuff with cash...

                Nonsense. They can't yet closely scrutinize everyone. By constantly trying to avoid surveillance even if your activities are completely mundane, you provide a cover for those who need privacy more than you. Make them waste their resources.

                This is that toxic 'Just give up and surrender everything' attitude that inevitably results in the destruction of our liberties. Such shallow thinking.

          • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:17PM

            by cubancigar11 (330) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:17PM (#656169) Homepage Journal

            Yes, I understand that. I use credit cards myself, I just couldn't bring myself to use it to buy bitcoins.

            All in all, let me say again

            God only knows if I had done some serious thing about it back in 2008 then I would have been in a different situation

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:50PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:50PM (#656283)

          mine alt coins. convert to whatever coins you want to hold.

    • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:53AM

      by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:53AM (#655973) Homepage Journal

      I started with wp's bitcoin then blockchain both were very good articles

      There is a wiki somewhere that has all the gory details

      And there is a Medium article that explains that cryptocurrencies are an asset class that facilitates censorship resistant distributed applications

      Bitcoin really isn't useful for anything other than raw seething naked speculation. It's transactions take so long to settle that BTC is no longer useful as a medium of exchange

      But etherium's smart contracts make eth useful for all manner of things

      I regard ICOs as a wise investment when the companies behind them aren't fraudulent. There are some ICO dating sites - read those first

      And when crypto skyrockets turn around and run as fast and as far as you can: I lost $885 on TRON

      If your in the US of A or the great white north, Bitmains Antminer L3+ LiteCoin rig can use 110 volts. All their other rigs require 220.

      --
      Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: 5, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:59AM (3 children)

      by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:59AM (#655976) Journal

      but if USA is afraid of a having cryptocurrency backed oil dealings, then this is some serious shit I need to figure out.

      USA will be afraid for anything transacting oil which is not bound to USD [huffingtonpost.com].
      And today's China won't bulge to economic sanctions, I guess such things will seem amusing to them, at first at least. If China wants to buy Venezuelan oil in yaun or crypto-currency, it will give little attention about what Trump has to say.

      --
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @11:18AM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @11:18AM (#656039)

        And Europe is using Euro?

        • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday March 21 2018, @12:32PM (1 child)

          by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @12:32PM (#656067) Journal

          And Europe is using Euro?

          For the time being, the only country that is using other currency than petro-dollar is... Iran. [wikipedia.org]

          There was another one who tried to peg oil to another currency, but was too weak for his grand pride to stand on its own [globalresearch.ca]. By contrast, it seems that the Iranians have the common-sense to appease some other economic powers (in this case, Europe) in place of bending to the will of US.

          --
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by requerdanos on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:49PM

      by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:49PM (#656147) Journal

      by cubancigar11 (330) on Wednesday March 21, @12:45AM (#655909)

      if USA is afraid of a having cryptocurrency backed oil dealings

      So, two things I can name that the US has banned buying from Spanish-speaking neighbor nations.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by ilPapa on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47AM (12 children)

    by ilPapa (2366) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:47AM (#655910) Journal

    It takes some kind of brass for Donald Trump to call somebody else out for perpetrating a "scam".

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
    • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Captival on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:53AM (7 children)

      by Captival (6866) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:53AM (#655930)

      Feel free to go move to Venezuela and put all your money in petros then. They'll love that.

      PS: Bring a lot of toilet paper with you.

      • (Score: 2) by ilPapa on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:24AM (2 children)

        by ilPapa (2366) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:24AM (#655936) Journal

        Feel free to go move to Venezuela and put all your money in petros then. They'll love that.

        Wow, that escalated fast. I merely pointed out the fact that Donald Trump, who is renowned worldwide for perpetrating scams, represents some level of irony in calling someone else a scamster.

        --
        You are still welcome on my lawn.
        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:04AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:04AM (#655956)

          Seriously. Like that set of hotels that were built in Haiti with the donations for the tsunami victims. That fucker should rot in prison.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:42PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:42PM (#656233)

            Tsunami, Haiti, dafuq?

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:33AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:33AM (#655941)

        Showing user name #s is the best thing ever, nothing screams "troll account!" like a high # profile spewing the typical garbage.

        Maybe they are someone new, but the point still stands. Garbage is the same whether its now or tomorrow.

        • (Score: 4, Touché) by Fluffeh on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:03AM (2 children)

          by Fluffeh (954) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:03AM (#655979) Journal

          Posting with a high UID is still better than posting Anon Cow though... Just sayin'

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:06PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:06PM (#656124)

            I used to think so as well, then it hit me that comments should stand on their own. Account names just enable the standard human social categorization, and any troll can create fake accounts.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @01:12AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 22 2018, @01:12AM (#656415)

              I used to think so as well, then it hit me that comments should stand on their own. Account names just enable the standard human social categorization, and any troll can create fake accounts.

              I'm sorry for making that stupid comment. I don't really believe that comments should stand on their own, but I'm saying that because if I make an account, I'm afraid people will know I'm a troll.

              I apologize to everyone on SoylentNews.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:50AM (3 children)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:50AM (#655949) Journal
      OTOH, scammers often know their own kind. In any case, the argument is irrelevant. The "petro" is backed by Maduro's feelgoods not by Venezuelan oil. It is automatically a scam. It doesn't need Trump's opinion to grace it with the label.
      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by ilPapa on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:03PM (2 children)

        by ilPapa (2366) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:03PM (#656121) Journal

        The "petro" is backed by Maduro's feelgoods not by Venezuelan oil.

        How is that different from Bitcoin?

        --
        You are still welcome on my lawn.
        • (Score: 2) by requerdanos on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:51PM

          by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @03:51PM (#656149) Journal

          The "petro" is backed by Maduro's feelgoods not by Venezuelan oil.

          How is that different from Bitcoin?

          Or any fiat currency, such as the Dollar or the Pound?

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:15PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:15PM (#656212) Journal

          How is that different from Bitcoin?

          It's backed by the feelgood of a lot more people, none who have the power to screw over currency holders any time they feel like it.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:55AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:55AM (#655913)

    The US is such a strong and powerful country! Scared about a digital currency? Way to signal your greatest weakness!

    Seriously this is gonna end with WW3, the US is gonna try and clamp down on the world for trying to not pay the US tithe and eventually countries are gonna get pissed and it'll be US vs. THE WORLD! Bunch of fuckin' maroons over here trying to desperately cling to power instead of reading a single history book.

    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:04AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:04AM (#655917)

      It's "try to clamp down" not "try and clamp down".

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:24AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:24AM (#655937)

        I see we have chief purple over here

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by mrpg on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:56AM (3 children)

    by mrpg (5708) Subscriber Badge <reversethis-{gro ... yos} {ta} {gprm}> on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:56AM (#655914) Homepage

    You can't buy petros with bolívares, only with euros, dollars and yuans.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:36AM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:36AM (#655943)

      Wow, you know the "blockchain" has peaked when an entire country tries to bail itself out with it.

      That the US is blocking the move only solidifies the point and shows how petty the US really is. Or scared, pretty sad overall.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:05AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:05AM (#655957)

        That the US is blocking the move only solidifies the point and shows how petty the US really is.

        No shit. US went from leader of the world, to a joke of the world within just 2 years. Well, not even 2 years. What a SAD state of affairs.... "cheater-in-chief" is now scared about some Venezuelan "crypto currency" no better than titycoin.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:27AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:27AM (#655966)

          Ugh, yeah Trump will go down in history as the low point of the US. Well, I hope it is the low point and not the end. Trump is a special sort of deranged, probably the trump card (haha) against the US's illusion of being the "good guy". Sheeeit, Obama got a nobel peace prize? What a load of shit, I full heartedly wish Obama WAS the good guy, but even Southpark mocked him albeit with a hopeful ending to that episode. Seems that hope was misplaced, now we have Cartman as president and god help us all (if you're into that sorta of theistic thing).

  • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:22AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:22AM (#655935)

    Is there any actual verification this is true? I think I'll wait for someone to google translate a japanese guy tweeting in japanese on twitter about it.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:00AM (13 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:00AM (#655952) Journal
    I see all these posts that say the same thing in some combination. The "Dear Leader" is "afraid" of Venezuela's cryptocurrency. But have they ever realized that the "Petro" is just the latest in a series of dick moves by the current Venezuelan government? The US (and everyone else for that matter outside of Venezuela) are under no obligation to honor any of Venezuela's economic fantasies no more than they are obligated (for those outside of the US) to honor the economic fantasies of Trump.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:06AM (6 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:06AM (#655959)

      I would hope most everyone understands that, however the US trying to block this move just shows how scared they are that the petro-dollar will lose it's power. As a US citizen I sort of share the worry because I don't want to see my country thrown into chaos, however I also see how fucked up the US empire is and it needs to be taken down. Not all the way down, just a few rungs on the ladder so the US is just one of the member countries on the UN council.

      Anything else is just elitist bullshit that refuses to acknowledge that Earth is home to more than a few powerful countries.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:09AM (5 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:09AM (#655961) Journal

        I would hope most everyone understands that, however the US trying to block this move just shows how scared they are that the petro-dollar will lose it's power.

        And I would hope you understand what the word, "scared" means.

        I don't want to see my country thrown into chaos

        A bit late for that, isn't it?

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:20AM (4 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:20AM (#655963)

          You are correct, Trump destroyed the last bit of veneer covering US imperialism.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:30AM (2 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:30AM (#655987) Journal

            You are correct, Trump destroyed the last bit of veneer covering US imperialism.

            Which would be relevant, if US imperialism were a big deal. Currently, its primary application is as a source of blame for other countries's inadequacies.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:51PM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @04:51PM (#656192)

              Please try and keep your naivety to yourself.

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:05PM

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:05PM (#656200) Journal
                Look we have a century of American imperialism and while it's pretty seedy, it's also pretty paltry in its extent for a global phenomenon. Soviet imperialism led to a billion heavily oppressed people.
          • (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:26PM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:26PM (#656268) Journal
            I think what's particularly silly about the argument is the idea that because someone makes a choice, then they are "afraid" or "scared" of the other choices. For example, if I choose gas station A because it's on my side of the street and thus, far more convenient than gas station B on the other side, it means that I am scared of gas station B. That's a pretty complete devaluing of the words.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:07AM (4 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:07AM (#655960)

      The US (and everyone else for that matter outside of Venezuela) are under no obligation to honor any of Venezuela's economic fantasies no more than they are obligated (for those outside of the US) to honor the economic fantasies of Trump.

      yes *BUT* this means that US believes this can be more than a sad joke. This cryptocurrency is a joke but to America, it seems like it's not. Which is petty and sad. How far has it fallen so fast.

      • (Score: 2, Informative) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:10AM (2 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:10AM (#655962) Journal

        This cryptocurrency is a joke but to America, it seems like it's not.

        When they're trying to pay in said currency without financial backing, it's not a joke, but a scam.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:46AM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:46AM (#655971)

          ummmm, you know people can not accept a bad deal right? If they do then that is their problem. Not seeing the problem here, but I am seeing the US freak out over "monopoly money". So what's your point? The world bank doesn't want to see people turn to blockchain tech and do away with the bullshit of fiat currency?

          I'll side with the powers that be to a small degree, plunging the world into chaos for decades may not be a great solution to the centralized power of the World Bank. Not convinced though, just siding with global stability.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:32AM

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:32AM (#655988) Journal

            ummmm, you know people can not accept a bad deal right?

            Not if they're dealing in Venezuela. Now, they can at least say "Sorry, my government won't allow me to accept that blockchain play money. Perhaps you have some hard currency you could exchange that into first?"

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:58PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 21 2018, @06:58PM (#656286)

        just because some old techno-phobic rich guy is "scared" of it doesn't mean the whole US is.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by shortscreen on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:53PM

      by shortscreen (2252) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @05:53PM (#656240) Journal

      Nobody asked the US to "honor" anything that Venezuela is doing. The problem is that the US, as usual, can't mind its own damn business. They are butthurt that they aren't currently in control of Venezuela, so they are trying to sabotage it.

      Dictators that roll over for the US are A-OK. When someone defies the US, that's when the propaganda and the sanctions come out. It's very simple.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by istartedi on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:29AM

    by istartedi (123) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @07:29AM (#655968) Journal

    Venezuela-Related Sanctions. [state.gov] began under Obama. It looks like Trump strengthened them to cut trade. This new step seems like just a minor step to ban something that could be used to circumvent earlier sanctions.

    Regardless of how you feel about the sanctions approach, it's one of the least crazy things Trump has done. No, I didn't vote for him. I'm just annoyed at seeing a fairly standard US foreign policy approach carried over from a previous administration being lumped in with the other insanity.

    --
    Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:00PM (2 children)

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday March 21 2018, @08:00PM (#656307) Journal

    According to Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] all coins are already pre-mined by the government and no new coins are possible. Who is maintaining the blockchain outside of the government and why would they? It's price is determined by fiat of the Venezuelan government. If the answer to the second question is "nobody else" then the government gets to shut it down when it wants to.

    It's not decentralized, it's not a free market valuation, and presumably there's only one source that can give or take away petros (I'm interpolating that last and could be wrong). It may use a blockchain, but why is this considered a cryptocurrency?

    --
    This sig for rent.
    • (Score: 3, Funny) by requerdanos on Thursday March 22 2018, @03:22PM (1 child)

      by requerdanos (5997) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 22 2018, @03:22PM (#656631) Journal

      but why is this considered a cryptocurrency?

      Complex and precise mathematical equations, combined with other techniques, are used to validate each unidad del petro.

      For example, the fifteenth petro "coin" that was mined can be generated with the equation 10 + 5. This can be easily verified by addition, a mathematical operation. Although there is a possibility of collisions (for example, 9 + 6 would also coincidentally point to the same coin), these can easily be checked by comparing the user's exact equation with the one stored in the blockchain, thus ensuring that not only the coin, but the generating equation match the crypto-woo-woo involved.

      For an additional layer of encryption, instead of performing the above two equations as "ten plus five equals fifteen" and "nine plus six equals fifteen", Venezuela is also switching up the linguistics and performing them as "diez mas cinco son quince" and "nueve mas seis son quince", totally incomprehensible to persons outside Venezuela unless they are one of the millions of people who speak or have studied the specialized language being used.

      This combination of cryptography using mathematical equations, cryptography using linguistic code switching, and careful blockchain recording of a tokenized digital currency provide a powerful combination that is sure to impress reporters and world leaders of less-than-average intelligence. Slam dunk.

      This process is completely different from how grade school kids might keep track of who owes how much bubble gum to whom using crayons and coloring books. (Source: Venezuelan government, paraphrased). The principal difference is that it is a totally official government doing the coloring, which makes it crypto-coloring by decree.

      • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Friday March 23 2018, @02:07PM

        by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Friday March 23 2018, @02:07PM (#657119) Journal

        Oh good! I'm totally and completely reassured then and so very glad that the worlds cybers are being used so well to cryptoize the coinage. Boy these currencies things sure are easy! Any day now I'll do my own ICO launch - the Lawnie (symbol: LWN) will launch straight up. Like those SpaceX rockets and when we get the kinks worked out any loss will be softened with retro-rocket action ensuring that any downturn will be a controlled soft landing.

        This is our way out of poverty and get everyone an above-average income. Everybody do your own cryptocurrency! The Lawnie will be a global tracking aggregator of all them. In this way All Your Lawn Are Belong to Us!

        --
        This sig for rent.
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